Leverkusen suffer treble blow

01 March 2012 05:16

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Germany's remaining Champions League teams Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich meet on Saturday with three of Leverkusen's stars having returned from international duty with injuries.

Leverkusen are at Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium next Wednesday needing to over-turn a 3-1 deficit from their first-leg Round of 16 tie, while Bayern host FC Basel on March 13 and need to claw back after their 1-0 defeat.

Having beaten strugglers Augsburg and Cologne in recent weeks to go fifth in the Bundesliga table, Leverkusen are hoping to topple second-place Bayern Munich, but have suffered casualties from Wednesday's friendlies.

Forwards Andre Schuerrle, Eren Derdiyok and defender Vedran Corluka face a race against time to be fit for Bayern and Barcelona.

Schuerrle, who has only just recovered from a black eye playing against Stuttgart last month, took an elbow in the face during Germany's 2-1 defeat to France and has suffered damage to the cartilage around the nasal bone.

"There's pressure on my nose, but I'm hoping it's not too serious and everything will be all right by the weekend," said Schuerrle who is expected to face Bayern with a face mask.

Corluka, who is on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, was on the losing side as Croatia suffered a 3-1 defeat to Sweden in Zagreb and the left back had to come off before half-time and his club are waiting to see how badly he is injured.

Likewise, Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok, who has only just returned after cutting his foot on a broken toothbrush holder, limped off at the end of Switzerland's 3-1 defeat to Argentina as Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick.